This app will save your marriage

Stephens-Tolstoy is co-founder Tokii, an Oakville, Ontario based business that offers web based self-help tools. Tokii aims to facilitate communication between couples with its suite of web tools, including several recently released apps.

In late June the company released a Tokii app for iOS, followed by a Facebook app in early July. Last week it released an Android version of its iPhone app.

Stephens-Tolstoy says the apps are condensed versions of the relationship tools offered on Tokii.com.

“It’s just two tools—the mood metre, and the discovery game,” she says. “It’s a very abbreviated version of the [browser] experience.”

The mood metre lets couples share their mood with an emoticon and status update. They can post the update to off-site social networks, like Twitter and Facebook, or only with their partners.

Tokii

Over time Tokii aggregates each user’s mood, creating ‘mood histories’ partners can compare.

The Android and iOs apps also offer ‘Discovery Games,’ a kind of throwback to the 1950s game show The Newlywed Game, in which couples compare answers to questions.

Some of the 300 discovery topics are fun, like Dirty Talk. Others are serious relationship builders, like Bridging the Communication Gap.

“We have everything from current events to sex topics to movies and books. It’s a real range of topics,” Stephens-Tolstoy says. “Some are serious topics but some are just really fun. You can go as deep as you want and as light as you want.”

Tokii

The idea is that the app keeps couples talking about interesting topics instead of falling into a dull, day-to-day routine.

Instead of always talking about the groceries and the office, it demands couples discuss news, politics and their relationship.

It also demands that they put time in, which may be the real therapy. “This is a really busy generation. That’s everybody’s excuse,” Stephens-Tolstoy says.

“If you want to work on your relationship and make it fresh we’re trying to make it as easy as possible, but you still have to commit some time,” she says.

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